HOW TO INTEREST CHILDREN IN PLANT BASED FOOD
Did you know I run an online wellness community on Facebook? We have over 100 people in our group sharing ideas and information. One of the ladies commented yesterday that she was
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Greta, thank you for your suggestion. You have inspired me to spend an afternoon collating lots of vegan info for you all! Hope you find this useful
I love plant based eating and am always looking for ways to increase this. However I can get bored with just another round of roasted veggies and different herbs. We have been experimenting with so many new plant based dishes over the past few months (some of which meet with my carnivore loving husband’s approval and some are definitely earmarked solely for me when he is night flying!) but it’s been a delight to become more plant based.
Below are some food ideas and recipe suggestions, website links and an all important infographic about children’s nutritional requirements. Many thanks to Caroline B for allowing me to share some of her superb family friendly vegan meals.
NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
- B12 – found in eggs, cheese & milk. Replace with fortified breakfast cereals, non dairy milks and yogurts
- Iron – add beans, chickpeas & lentils, seeds & nuts, dark green vegetables, wholegrains (wholemeal bread & brown rice), dried fruit
- Omega 3- found in fish. Other sources: flaxseed, walnuts (to be ground up for children under 5 to prevent choking), ground chia seeds & hemp seeds
- Iodine to support thyroid function – I recommend taking in a child friendly multivitamin supplement
Top children friendly supplements:
- BioCare Children’s Complete Complex – easy to use powder form.
- Cytoplan’s Little People – tiny tables for children over 4 years old.
Hopefully this infographic helps fill you with confidence that children can follow a vegan based diet with a bit of extra food thought and a little multivitamin as well to ensure all minimum levels are topped up sufficiently
FUN VEGAN IDEAS FOR KIDS
- Tacos – roast babycorn, onion & peppers together or create a black bean version
- Buddha bowls
- Homemade pizza
- Bean spaghetti bolognaise
- Porridge oats with chia seeds & fruit on top
- Overnight oats – oats, chia seeds, coconut yogurt & almond milk
- Wholemeal wraps with hummus, spring onion, avocado, red pepper, lemon juice
- Mix and match bowls for them to help themselves including baked potato slices, smashed avocado, mixed beans (e.g. roasted chickpeas, kidney beans), spinach, tomatoes, roasted vegetables, coleslaw. Obviously not all these at once
- Homemade soups
- Falafels with side salad
HEALTHY DESSERTS AND SNACKS
- Fruit slices
- Homemade sorbet – melon & strawberries plus ice cubes in a NutriBullet – simple!
- Coconut yogurts
- Coconut chocolate pots – add some fruit on the side to dip in
- Hummus with toast dippers
- Fruit smoothies
WEBSITE IDEAS & RECIPE SUGGESTIONS
- Hummous recipe – simply blend chickpeas, garlic, tahini, salt & pepper, lemon juice & water. Can also add sun dried tomatoes, olives, turmeric etc for different flavours (not at the same time of course!)
- Vegan society – abundance of info vegansociety.com/resources/recipes/cakes-meringues-and-desserts
- Vegan desserts for children thespruceeats.com/vegan-desserts-for-kids-1001218
- Child friendly vegan baking https://littlegreenduck.co.uk/2019/02/01/child-friendly-vegan-baking/
- Tons of chocolate and cake based ideas here! sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/slideshow/2122724/vegan-desserts-kids/5/
- Easy vegan tacos bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chargrilled-vegetable-tacos-smoky-salsa
- Vegan black bean tacos delishknowledge.com/vegan-black-bean-tacos/
HOMEMADE GRANOLA – DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE!
DELICIOUSLY ELLA RECIPE & EXPLANATION BELOW
“This granola is my oldest and most loved recipe. Everyone adores it. The nutty crunchy texture and sweet echoes of cinnamon and coconut make this the most delicious and nutritious way to start any day. The pecans and almonds provide a fantastic intake of protein, omega-3 and vitamin E. The pumpkin, sunflower and flax seeds enhance these benefits, while also boosting your intake of key minerals, such as phosphorus, magnesium and manganese. The whole grain oats are bursting with fibre and will keep you full all morning, since the body burns them slowly. Finally, the cinnamon helps to maintain steady blood sugar levels and the coconut butter makes your skin and hair beautifully clear and shiny. What more could anyone need? Add some raisins for some extra sweetness and a delicious juicy texture that bursts in your mouth and enjoy with almond milk and fresh berries. I promise this tastes better than any brought cereal or granola out there and will do a lot more for your beautiful body.”
Makes one large container of granola
– 2 and a 1/2 cups of oats
– 1 cup of pecans
– 1/2 cup of almonds
– 1/2 cup of flax seeds
– 1 cup of pumpkin seeds
– 1 cup of sunflower seeds
– 1 cup of raisins
– 3 tablespoons of coconut oil
– 3 tablespoons of maple syrup
– 3 teaspoons of cinnamon
Place the pecans and almonds in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds so that they are partially crushed. Then add them to a large mixing bowl with all the other dry ingredients, except the raisins and cinnamon, and stir together.
Next, melt the coconut oil with the maple syrup and cinnamon on the stove, once it has dissolved into a sweet liquid add it to the dry bowl and mix well. This should form a delicious oaty nutty bowl, which is slightly sticky.
Place the mixture into a baking tray and bake for about 30-40 minutes at 180C, until crunchy. During this time you’ll need to stir the mixture to ensure that every bit of the granola gets nicely toasted and the top doesn’t burn.
Once the granola is cooked perfectly remove the tray from the oven and allow it to cool, then stir in the raisins. Store the granola in an air-tight container to keep it wonderfully fresh and crunchy.